Five cartel gunmen killed during shootout in Mexican border state of Sonora

A gun battle in the Mexican border state of Sonora has resulted in the deaths of five suspected cartel gunmen, state government officials said in a statement.

Authorities said the shootout erupted on Tuesday after elements of the state police confronted a group of assassins, who maintained a threat to the residents living near the Marte R. Gomez Station, located just south of Sonora.

A police officer was reportedly injured in the firefight and was rushed to a hospital in Ciudad Obregon, where he remains in stable condition, Proceso reported.

“The confrontation occurred at 4:20 p.m. after community residents near the village notified authorities of the sounds of gunfire,” the statement said.

Officials added: “Municipal Police patrols were dispatched to the area where they spotted several armed men in three late-model pickup trucks. Two of them immediately fled the area. However, gunmen in one of the vehicles decided to confront the police patrol, resulting five suspects dead and one wounded policeman.”

Authorities recovered several automatic weapons and a gray Dodge pickup.

Police transferred the bodies of the dead gunmen, who have not yet been identified, to the headquarters of the Forensic Medical Service (Semefo) for the Attorney General of the State.

Law enforcement officials in Sonora refused to link the gunmen to a particular drug cartel. However, the northwestern Mexican state, which borders Arizona, New Mexico, and part of California, is considered the epicenter of drug trafficking into the U.S. under the firm control of the Sinaloa Federation Cartel, according to the 2015 DEA assessment report.